Healthy Food From Wal-Mart? From Mrs. Lo, the Cottage Coach

I have a confession to make.

I buy groceries at Wal-Mart.

What…Dr. “Wellness” Ben’s wife does that?  I thought they were health nuts.

I know when I think of good old American Wal-Mart, I picture carts full of Doritos,
Little Debbies, Wonder Bread and Dr. Pepper. 

But that’s not what we’re talking about here.

We like to eat nourishing food, we have a large hungry family, and we live 60 miles from
the nearest Whole Foods and Trader Joe’s.

A Super Wal-Mart opened up a few months ago and I discovered that I save ALOT of money
over our smaller local market. We are talking up to 60 – 80 bucks a week.

Now I still support our local market, but I am finding that the sheer bulk of our grocery list
inspires a little creativity these days. 

We are still eating quite well and I thought I would share a few ideas of healthy choices EVEN from Wal-Mart.

Plus it gives me an excuse to bring up an issue that I think it is vital to remember: 

That it is OKAY to not eat perfectly all the time.

It is OKAY to celebrate the stages of our life that might seem limiting…

like the fact that I am pregnant with number six and we live out in the country.

And THE most important thing you and I can do is start from a place of Self Acceptance AND Thankfulness.

I have found my life is more fulfilling and what I truly want it to be when I come from a place
of inner acceptance.  

It is okay that we eat white flour here and again.

It is okay that not everything is organic.  We will have more time for that in the future.

It is great that we are increasing our veggies whenever we can.

I find that NO lasting and healthy change comes from negative thinking and forcing myself. 

What about you?

So now let me give you a few ideas for nourishing and energizing meals.

Easy one.

Wal-Mart carries Omega Eggs and Cage Free eggs.  They are around $2.25 a doz.

I scramble them with provolone cheese (deli sliced in a package) and any veggies I have on hand.

The kids really like the taste.   Top with tomatoes and add a handful of fresh lettuce or greens. 

Ben and I don’t eat too much bread, but I’ll toast some with whole grain in it for the kids. I’ll
eat toast if I really have the hankering for it.  The store also carries fruit sweetened Jams.
Lovely with a cup of Irish Breakfast Tea.   Yum!

Number Two.

Tofu, Bok Choi and Rice

I know there is some controversy about soy, but at times we still eat tofu.
We like the taste and the break from meat. 

I like to get two or three small plastic tubs where the tofu is sealed in water. I use Extra Firm.
I take the hunk of tofu out and dice it into small square pieces.  Then wrap it in a clean towel
and gently squeeze out the excess water.

Then I marinade it.  Wal-Mart has several different sauces you can use.  Try what sounds good to you.
I’ve used Hoisin Ginger.  Some can be really sweet so you don’t have to use a lot.  

If you are watching your sugar, then try tamari or soy sauce with lots of minced garlic.
It is simple but yummy. 

Let the marinade soak for about an hour.

I usually cook it under the broiler in a 9×13 pan until brown and a bit crispy.

Wal-Mart has Jasmine rice and brown rice.  Make what you like.  You can use whole grain spaghetti noodles
if that sounds good to you.

We eat our Bok Choi raw.  It is so refreshing and I am glad to have the enzymes.  Napa or Chinese Cabbage
is also delicious raw.

Okay…last one.

Asparagus wraps.

My friend told me how to roast asparagus so it stays crisp and tastes fabulous!!!!

Be careful.  It is addictive.

Heat oven to 400 degrees.   Clean and pat dry asparagus.  In a bowl toss the stalks with olive oil,
sea salt and cracked pepper.

Place in a 9×13 pan.  Cook for about 12 minutes.  Take it out and test it.  See if it is how you like it.

I like to eat asparagus with poached eggs, with chicken or fish, or just as a snack.

But I really like it for a tea meal in a wrap.  Buy whole grain tortillas or authentic flour tortillas.
Spread mayo on tortilla and lay down some cucumber slices and your favorite cheese.  I like a shredded
Italian blend or Muenster.  Then lay down 2 or 3 stalks of asparagus.  Roll up and eat with a healthy
TLC brand cookie and a cup of tea. 

Wherever you shop…

Enjoy and celebrate where you are…right now.

Blessings!

Rachelle Lo
The Cottage Coach

P.S. If you’d like to hear more from the “Cottage Coach”, leave your comments below,
and you can also contact Rachelle directly for a free 10 minute “Creative Eating & Living”
Consultation by leaving a message at 1-888-909-6601.

Music For Your Soul…

Recently I enjoyed watching the movie August Rush with my family, and was caught up in the music and modern fairy-tale-like story.  After watching the movie, I mentioned to my wife Rachelle that though the events in the story seemed very miraculous and wondrous to those of us watching…to the actual characters in the story, much of their path seemed painful, confusing, and at times like it almost could have turned out very differently at certain critical moments.  This made me wonder about our own lives, and reminded me of Einstein’s thought—that either everything is a miracle, or nothing is…

After watching the movie, I hopped on over to Amazon and downloaded “August’s Rhapsody”–an amazing piece of music that is tied together throughout the film and then provides a final unified piece at the end…I’ve listened to this 7 minute piece again and again…each time it carries me through a series of soaring emotions and lifts me out of the mundane or “task-oriented” world I may be caught in at the moment. 

Music is a powerful way to tap into different vibrations and shift how you feel almost instantaneously, and this piece in particular is remarkable in its ability to do so in an uplifting and powerful way–with a very pertinent 2-sentence message from August himself just as the music ends.

You can sample the music here, and get your own copy for just 99 cents–a great value for over 7 minutes of music that will lift your soul.

Enjoy, and leave your own comments and experiences with music below!

Dr. Ben

For Expecting Parents & Nursing Moms…

From time to time I get questions about pregnancy and birth, and the different options, choices, and decisions that arise.

Despite all the “science” and technology that now surround us, many parents intuitively sense that there may be answers for them that are more simple and yet more profoundly impactful than what technology alone can measure or medical science can tell them.

My wife and I have experienced this firsthand ourselves with our first 5 children, all of whom were born at home (after the first birth, Rachelle said just knowing she could get up and use the bathroom whenever she wanted was a big “plus”, not to mention being in her own bed and comfy chair and being waited on hand and foot right after the birth…), and I’ve also counseled many couples and worked with 100’s of deliveries both at home and in the hospital.

And now as Rachelle and I are expecting #6, and all the kids can eagerly feel her “kicking”, we again enter the mystery of what happens in the womb and at birth.

Last night Rachelle told me she’s been talking to “Ginny”, and wrote out some affirmations for the two of them for the birth, realizing that that will be a special time of their first “partnering” together as mother and child—in the powerful act of birth.

Given these experiences, and knowing there are many out there who would love to bounce ideas and questions off us from both a “professional” and personal perspective, we thought we’d find out how many are actually readers of this blog and the Dr. Ben email letter, and whether we could serve them in some way.

So…if you’re an expecting parent, or a nursing mom—that also is a wonderful journey that can generate much question and mystery—and you’d like to talk directly, simply say so in the comments below, and even leave a question or topic that you would love addressed.

If there’s enough interest, Rachelle and I may host an open teleconference call in the next week or two to connect with you all and address your questions.

Much love and blessings to you all!

Dr. Ben

“Psychological Sunshine”

As we’re about to begin another weekend, I wanted to share a wonderful term I picked up from David Schwartz, Ph.D., in his book The Magic Of Thinking Big:

“Psychological Sunshine”

In the book, Dr. Schwartz gives an example of two different people and how they spend their weekends.

I don’t have the exact details in front of me, but it went something like this:

Person A, let’s  call him Joe, is exhausted from his week at work.  He wakes up late on Saturday, watches TV and drinks beer, he and his wife ask each other what they’d like to do…they don’t know, so they watch some more TV….Sunday’s the same…they’re too tired to see anyone or do anything…and when Monday rolls around, they still feel tired and dread another week of work.

Person B, let’s call him Jim, gets some errands done on Saturday, and then he and his wife have some friends over that they’ve been wanting to meet, and they enjoy having good conversation together.  On Sunday, they plan a family outing — a hike outdoors where they get some exercise, enjoy the outdoors, and have some relaxed time together as a family.

When Monday rolls around, Jim feels refreshed and ready to dive into a new week.  He enjoyed plenty of “psychological sunshine” on the weekend.

Dr. Schwartz also talks about giving your family the gift of  “planned” time together…and I’ll add that this “planning” can apply to your own personal time as well…

And it doesn’t have to be sunny outside….last Friday night, I was actually feeling a little tired and I’ll admit, a little grumpy as the day was coming to an end and I was feeling like I’d missed an opportunity to have some quality time with my family.  My oldest daughter was helping out at a friend’s house, and my wife suggested I take our middle two out to town on the way to pick our eldest up while my wife herself gave our youngest two a bath.

Just as dusk was setting in, we drove to our little harbor town on Lake Michigan, and as we approached, my daughter stated with enthusiasm how much she loved walking in town just as the lights were coming on.  As we walked by the lighted shops, most of which were closed, Emmie, who can only see some light and color, would ask what each shop was.  When we walked past the South Bend Chocolate Company Cafe (which was still open), my son Henri asked if we could step inside, and Emmie agreed.  When I asked, “Why?”, Emmie said, “So we can look at the chocolates…”  I commented that she couldn’t see the chocolates, but she just smiled and we went inside.

We were the last customers in the store, and after hearing a description of some of the things on display, we ended up getting two chocolate covered oreos–one for each of them.  As we stepped outside with the little paper bag, both Henri and Emmie were very excited, and Emmie later told me she was trying to get me to get them something without actually asking directly…

We then walked to the harbor where there’s a grassy hill, and as a breezy, cloudy night was coming on, we ran and rolled down the hill a number of times.  We then walked back to the car together just as it was starting to sprinkle.

I mention this story because it was a brief but very special time for the three of us–a memory we created together that we’ve already talked about several times since–and one that occurred when moments before it looked like the day was “over”, at least from my perspective.

That outing–on a cloudy end of the day–became a significant source of psychological sunshine for us that set our direction that weekend.

So how about for you?

What experiences are you allowing yourself and your family?

As illustrated above, something seemingly small can turn into something precious…

So enjoy some “psychological sunshine” this weekend, and let me know your own experiences in the comments below.

Dr. Ben

“Instantaneous” Cancer Healing?

I recently heard about a particular case of healing that is quite remarkable because it illustrates a whole paradigm shift in how we view our bodies…healing itself…and what’s possible for us.

Author Gregg Braden tells of a woman with an inoperable tumor in her bladder who went to a “medicineless hospital” in Beijing where—fully documented by ultrasound—her tumor “disappeared” in less than 3 minutes without surgery or medication.

What “treatment” did she undergo?

She had three practitioners who stood around her and simply held the feeling of a “different way for her to be.”

When Gregg asked what the practitioners were doing, he discovered that they weren’t judging the cancer or the woman, and they weren’t trying to make the cancer “go away.”

In fact, they weren’t focused on the cancer at all!

Rather, they simply held a different possibility, a different reality, a different way for her body to be, and under ultrasound documentation, her body altered almost instantaneously to match that new possibility.

At first this might sound like “magic” or a faith healing that we simply can’t understand and therefore can’t duplicate.  But quantum physics and the language of science are now catching up with the ability to describe such remarkable experiences in ways that our western, more materialistic and “scientific” minds can understand, and this woman’s case vividly illustrates what’s already being understood on the quantum level—that the smallest “particles” which make up our physical universe are really “bits of energy” organized in certain ways—and that at any given moment, there are multiple “possibilities” or “ways” for these quantum packets of energy “to be.”

Sophisticated experiments have already documented that it’s our attention—the very attention and focus of the observers in an experiement—that affects the particular “possibilities” and characteristics that are expressed on the quantum level.

Now we have a living example of this quantum phenemonon on a fully “human level” that affects “real life.”

Interestingly, Gregg asked whether the woman could have achieved this change in her body on her own.  He was told it’s possible, but not likely given the beliefs and thinking she’d been surrounded by up to that point. 

It’s much easier for us to hold a belief when surrounded and supported by others who hold that belief with us.

That’s often what a coach, mentor, or prayer-partner does for someone—simply hold open a door, a new possibility, a new way of thinking and being—that a person can then access and step into.

So what does this mean for you?

As I describe in Your Journey To Wellness, your current diagnosis or condition—your “current reality”—even if given by an expert, is simply a description, a snapshot if you will, of the current patterns and possibility or path you’re living now.

If you stay focused on all the aspects of your current condition, and all the things you “have to do” for it, you in a sense “perpetuate” that particular path and experience for your body and for you.

So how about choosing a new path, a new possibility, a new way for your body—and you—to be?

How do you do this?

Here’s three simple steps you can take right away:

1)  You can begin by allowing for the possibility in the first place…the possibility of a different way for you and your body to be…

2)  Support yourself—and open doors of possibility—by reading and listening to more on this subject…on people who have stepped from one path of experience (e.g., an illness) onto another path (being well), and on the the thoughts and beliefs of those who’ve coached them through this.

You can begin with the different entries on this blog, and you can also read more on Gregg Braden’s perspectives surrounding the above case of healing here.  You may also have a renewed appreciation for the sacred texts of your own particular spiritual heritage and what’s possible “if you believe.”

If you want to step into new possibilities and perspectives beyond what you can see for yourself right away, consider working with a healer, coach, or mentor one-on-one.

3)  Take “life-affirming” steps to support a new way of being.  Gregg Braden points out that the success rate of the medicineless hospital in Beijing is extremely high if the person continues “life-affirming” steps thereafter.

You have many such steps in the Dr. Ben email letter and on this blog, and a great resource to give you such life-affirming steps in both audio and written form is Your Journey to Wellness and The Foundational Wellness Program, two resources I’ve put together to give you a complete guide to integrating life-affirming and door-opening steps into your daily life clearly and easily.

If nothing else, I hope today’s article has opened a new door of possibility in your mind, and that you’ll begin taking steps in a new direction.

Remember, the direction you’re heading is more important than where you are right now…

All the best to you!

Dr. Ben

P.S.  I’m currently opening up spaces for two people to coach one-on-one with me by phone this month.  If you’re ready to step directly into new possibilities for your own health and want to see if an investment in yourself like this is a match for you, call me at 1-888-909-6601 for a free coaching assessment.  You may get to be one of the two!